The Investment Coordinating Committee of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-ICC) has already approved the construction of the new Gallares Hospital which the Provincial Government has been lobbying with the objective of providing better healthcare services to the Boholanos.
The estimated cost of almost P2.2B submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on September 5, 2013 through the issuance of the Multi-Year Obligational Authority (MYOA), has already been finalized in the detailed engineering design and Program of Works (POW).
An initial release of P555,000.00 is already allocated in the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and another P500M has been endorsed to the DBM for release.
During his March 6 trip, Gov. Chatto met with NEDA Sec. Arsenio Balisacan together with the higher echelons of other national agencies in the likes of NEDA-ICC Dir. Jonathan Uy, DOH Asec Elmer Punzalan, DOH Dir. Cresilda Abesamis, DOH Architect Ma. Rebecca Penafiel, and Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Dir. Liza Manzano, among others, for the final assessment related to the October 15, 2013 earthquake occurrence where most recent reports and studies were used as references.
The new Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Medical Center (GCGMMC) is to be located in Malayo Norte, Cortes, 11 kilometers away from its current location in Tagbilaran City and only a kilometer away from the Cortes Municipal Hall.
A Level III, retained regional teaching and training hospital, it is government-owned and serves as the referral center of patients from other provinces, where congestion is a current dilemma brought about by the increase of patients needing medical attention and health services leading to extremely inconvenient cases, such as two patients sharing only one bed.
The 7.2 magnitude earthquake in 2013 only aggravated the situation for other government hospitals in the province also suffered similar or even greater damage resulting in more congestion for the present Gallares Hospital which started only as an 8-bed capacity facility in 1929.
This prompted the management of GCGMMC to present its problem to the incumbent Provincial Leadership, which quite readily donated a 50,000-square meter lot at the relocation site.
This would be hitting two birds in one stone for the bigger site will also address existing deficiencies and would certainly comply to DOH standards geared towards an ISO Certification which the hospital has initially started.
Gov. Chatto supports the filing of a bill in Congress by Cong. Rene Relampagos buoy up the measure of converting the Gallares Hospital bed capacity from 250 to 500 with corresponding upgraded staff budget while the construction of the hospital facility is on-going.
A new mental facility in the hospital compound is part of the project design.
The new hospital will have spacious buildings with a 500-bed capacity equipped with complete and modern diagnostics equipment, providing therefore a spacious working environment and improved working conditions for enhanced and effective delivery of services to clients.
This would be a great opportunity both for Bohol and the region for it would then answer the programs and objectives of the DOH in providing Universal Healthcare to all Filipinos.
Jubilant of this latest achievement, Gov. Chatto could already see in his mind’s eye the happy and contented faces of patients who would be occupying the spacious rooms of the new GCGMMC, confident that they would go back home completely cured of their illness, but importantly, assured that subsequent health problems would be as promptly and efficiently attended to. (JLV/PGBH/EDCom)